


Frayed

by GonnaTakeMeHomeTonight



Category: Transformers: Prime, Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Future, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Future Fic, Mech Preg, Multi, Polyamory, kind of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-13
Updated: 2016-04-20
Packaged: 2018-06-02 00:26:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6542908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GonnaTakeMeHomeTonight/pseuds/GonnaTakeMeHomeTonight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone’s made it back to Cybertron alive and well, and hailed as heroes.  Good times.  Years later, in the midst of starting new lives, things start to feel like it’s falling apart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The first indication something was wrong was the chill. Okay, less wrong, and more just “not right”. Uncomfortable. It wasn’t supposed to be cold. There was supposed to be one big green lump on the right, and a big yellow one on the left, boxing in the heat. Probably with arms or legs draped across each other. But now, instead of being nice and warm and comfortably supported, there was a big, cold, empty spot where warmth should have been.

His hand fumbled at the blank space, patting at it with a dull thunk sound each time. Not right. There should be something there. 

And it was enough to rouse him from recharge, squinting blearily around the room. Still dark. Early morning, if the clock was anything to go by. Way too early to be awake. For anyone who wasn’t on night shift – and he’d been switched over to days a while ago, after too much paperwork and strategic dancing around issues. The snoring at his back, however, proved something at least was still as it should be. So he wasn’t going crazy.

Slowly, he sat up – or, rather, propped himself up on his elbows. Just as he thought, the space to his left was empty. No sign of the previous occupant. And no messages left either. Nothing but an absence. Which seemed entirely too common anymore, now that he thought about it. Common in the worst way possible. Ever since things got more serious, it seemed like more and more often they were getting left in the lurch while other things took priority. 

It was never a good feeling. Worse when you woke up to it.

“Couldn’t just leave a text…” Sideswipe muttered, before flopping back down to try one last avenue of information-gathering. He reached over and pawed at the snoring lump next to him. Smacking at it, really. “Grim. Grim. Hey. Wake up –”

No sooner had the words ‘wake up’ come out of his mouth than the lump beside him stopped snoring. Mid-snore. It shot upright with a panicked shout – “What, what! What is it? What’s goin’ on! What happened? Is it time?” –

And promptly smashed headfirst into the ceiling with enough force to dent it. 

Again.

There were already five separate other dents alongside it, speaking to at least five more instances just like this one. With Grim shooting awake expecting the worst, only to completely misjudge how low the ceilings in their apartment were. Sideswipe had to sort of scoot out of the way, holding up his hands to try and calm the huge bot, trying to yell over Grim’s sudden, sleep-induced panic. It was only marginally successful, seeing as pain had been added to the mix, and now the half-conscious Grimlock was half-transformed in order to protect his smaller partner from what his processor informed him was a threat. 

Which then led to Sideswipe shoving at him, trying to push him over and snap him back to reality. It was finally successful when the dinobot fell off the bed, facefirst. It took Grimlock a second or two to actually sit up. At least he was in robot mode, instead of dino – that would make everything more difficult. “Uh… oops?” he offered, with his usual, sheepish grin, pushing himself back into a sitting position. “Guess I kinda did it again, huh?”

“Just a little, big guy.”

Grimlock just winced, rubbing at his head, while his expression turned to a borderline pout. “Sorry about that, guys…” A pause, as he looked around, with recognition dawning in his optics. “Whoa, wait. Where’s Bee?”

Now it was Sideswipe’s turn to pout. He folded his arms across his chest, shrugging defensively. “I was going to ask you,” he said. “I really hoped he told you before he ducked out, because he sure didn’t say anything to me.”

The bed groaned a bit under the sudden weight as Grimlock heaved himself back up to sit beside him. One big arm looping loosely around Sideswipe’s waist. Sideswipe just let him, though he was more than content to scowl down at the floor. “Guess he got called into work or somethin’,” Grimlock said, hopeful. He always was the more forgiving of all of them. “Y'know how it’s been. With him gettin’ promoted and all.”

“Yeah,” Sideswipe admitted, though he really didn’t sound all that happy about it. Or understanding. “He was leading a whole team back when we were on Earth, and hey! Guess what! He still had lots of time for us.”

“Oh, right. But Earth had less crime and stuff, right? Less of us. We had a lotta time to sit around and do stuff.” And then he chuckled. “Lots of stuff.”

Sideswipe dug a sharp elbow into the big dinobot’s side. Grimlock didn’t so much as twitch, still chuckling to himself over his implied, and awful, innuendo. After a huff, though, Sideswipe just leaned into him, head resting on green armor. Now that the initial confusion was over, the fatigue was catching up to him again.

“You want me to call Strongarm and see if she’s on duty with him?”

“Nah, last time I did that, I woke her and Arcee up and both of them threatened to tie my wires in knots.”

A wince. “Ouch…” And the arm around him tightened, just a fraction. With the large hand settling over his midsection, thumb idly stroking the thinner metal. Protectively. “Okay, so no callin’,” Grimlock said. “What do you wanna do?”

Sideswipe didn’t answer him. He’d really thought once they got back to Cybertron, once they were home, and basically heroes, life was going to be great. He had a pair of partners who were probably the best things that ever happened to him – if he were allowed to steal a cliché from human movies. 

Everything had been going well, as far as Sideswipe was concerned. He’d never been in a “bad” place before leaving the planet. Sure, it wasn’t as great as he’d have liked, but it wasn’t anything miserable. But ever since they’d gotten back… it was like being a minor celebrity. They’d been back for years now, grown up in a lot more ways than they had been when they left. Not just physically, though Sideswipe and Strongarm had filled out a bit more, with her adding strength while Sideswipe seemed cursed with his slender build forever, despite the added height. 

Bee was getting back to his job in law enforcement, rising through the ranks fast, with new determination. Strongarm had slacked off him a little. Grimlock was actually fitting in, thanks to pardons for his efforts in saving Earth – and he’d found himself a nice little niche job, doing heavy lifting. All three of them ended up pooling their resources for a decent place, keeping in touch with Strongarm as she slowly dipped her proverbial toes into a relationship of her own, with a hero of her own. Even Fixit ended up with a perfect position, doing archival work in the museum that started all this. 

And Sideswipe?

He’d done a lot of work with Bee’s precinct. He wasn’t the best at detective work, but he could go undercover better than a lot of the more police-bots could. He fit in better with the underworld crowd. Especially his old street-racing crowd. Or at least he had. Before… certain things had happened. A result of having two partners, really – he should have known better, they all should have. Or been more careful. 

He dropped his own hand to sit by Grimlock’s, idly drumming his fingers along the slight swell of his abdomen. On any other bot, it probably wouldn’t be that noticeable at this stage. But given how slender he was, and the size of his partners? It was pretty obvious there was more than just his internals under the more flexible metal there. Part of him was pretty nervous about the whole thing. Just how big was it going to get? They hadn’t asked, or really gone to see anyone who could tell them. Probably stupid. But every time he thought about it, his spark felt like it was going to sputter out of control. Hard enough to accept you had something else living in you, without envisioning how it was going to get back out again. Or if your frame could handle it, or if Bee was going to be around like he said he would, or who had actually sparked it in the first place, or –

His hand moved from his stomach to Grimlock’s hand. Gripping one huge finger a little too tightly.

“I don’t know,” he admitted, finally. “I’m just tired, Grim. We’ll grab him when he gets home and… talk or something.”

“Okay.”

And that was that. At least for Grimlock. Simple enough. He leaned down enough to press his lips to the top of his smaller partner’s head. Briefly. Before picking him up without warning or concern. There was a sleepy grin smashed into the side of his neck as Grimlock lay back, pulling Sideswipe up onto his chest.

“Don’t worry, okay? If he tries to run off while we’re talkin’, I’ll just pick him up. I’m good at that,” Grimlock was saying, still smiling, holding tight without squeezing. 

“Yeah, I can see that.”

Another chuckle, one that rumbled under Sideswipe’s back. He wanted to roll over and feel it against his own spark, but even as early as he was in the term, it was probably a stupid idea. So he stayed where he was, one of Grimlock’s huge arms draped over his chest, the other hand still cradling his middle. It was surprising how comfortable it was. And even more surprising how quickly he felt himself start drifting again. 

“Grim’s got you,” he heard, the words low and reassuring as ever. “Both of you. No more worryin’. Just get some sleep.”

He had to grin a little at that. Yeah, they had things to work out. Yeah, things probably weren’t as idyllic as he’d hoped, but… he had this. They’d fix things. It made sense to his half-conscious processor, and he drifted back off again, feeling the vibrations of the huge engine at his back.


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn't even properly morning, and already his terminal was warm from all the work. There were probably seven filing programs open, more word processing documents, and law pamphlets running in the background. The poor machine was almost as overworked as the bot dutifully typing away at it. Pecking away, really. Since almost all of his energy had run out almost an hour ago – and he technically wasn't even on shift just yet. But someone had to do the paperwork. Someone had to make sure the reports were completely accurate and well put-together. Had to get shift rotations planned out and make absolutely sure there were no holes in anything at all.

And that someone, apparently, was Bumblebee. 

He had assistants to do this work, he really did. But if he delegated it all to them, what kind of leader would he be? Didn't leaders handle this kind of thing all on their own? 

He was Captain around here, leader of his very own precinct. Therefore, the work should fall to him, shouldn't it? He was perfectly willing to do it, too. And they wouldn't have promoted him if he wasn't. Right? Right. It all made perfect sense in his head. Besides... having the overtime pay helped out in other ways too. Ways he wasn't sure how to handle just yet.

Maybe that was part of the reason he was here so early. 

The machine beeped angrily at him, forcing him to pause and scrub a hand over his face. He hadn't slept in... what was it now? A week? Not properly anyway. Dozing at your desk didn't count as sleep. He'd gone home and tried, to be sure. But every time he did, responsibility nagged at him too hard for comfort. Whether it was messages from work, or questions from Strongarm (and occasionally Arcee), or rolling over and seeing the other two bots in bed with him, seeing what they'd inadvertently made together... Part of him wanted to panic. 

The other part wanted to hold onto them both and never let go, and thank them both for staying with him. For being with him. Apologize for all of this.

That part wasn't getting a say in things right now. Because neither Grimlock nor Sideswipe needed him sobbing all over them. Okay, Grim could probably handle it – Grim handled emotional things a lot better than most people gave him credit for. But Sideswipe? The red bot barely handled himself on a normal basis, even now, but add in their “addition-in-the-making”? It wouldn't be good. If the red idiot would just let them take him in for a checkup, they could put so many fears to rest. For all of them. But no, he had to be childish and stubborn about it.

And Bee was slowly losing patience.

He hadn't realized his head was drooping down to the desk until he heard it connect with a dull thunk. Even so, he didn't move it. He stayed that way for a few moments, focusing on cycling air through his vents. Normally, he'd do his best to hide this. No one else was in the office right now, however, so he was in the clear for the time being. No one needed to see their Captain losing his composure like this. It was actually sort of comfortable. Maybe a few more minutes wouldn't hurt...

His comm buzzed.

Bee all but jumped out of his chair, his hands flattening on the desk, optics wide. “I wasn't – I'm awake!” 

No one was around. Just his buzzing comm, flashing an image of Grimlock's grinning face. There were several missed messages. All within a few seconds of each other. Bee felt his spark do a little flip in his chest as he frantically mashed the 'open' button on the messages. Something was wrong. He knew it. He knew something was going to go wrong – he should have pushed harder, he should have smuggled a medic into the apartment without telling them, he should have been a better partner, a better leader, he – 

>> hey beeeee guess what hehe

Okay, that. Was not what he expected. Grimlock's lack of anything resembling grammar was oddly reassuring – as was his typed out laughter. The vice around Bumblebee's spark started to unclench.

>> ok you must be busy so im just gonna tell you  
>> guess whos going to get a checkup :D  
>> yeah you know whoooo  
>> we did it ! 

Once more, Bee let his head drop to the desktop. It sort of felt like he'd just gone and run a marathon right then and there.

>> oh by the way tell us when youre free cause sides wants you there too   
>> and no im not making that up he said that   
>> ok im gonna let you work bye <3 <3 

He had to admit. Those text hearts never failed to earn a little grin out of him. He'd have to thank whoever taught the big dinobot how to make them. He hesitated a bit before quickly, discreetly, sending a message back.

> well yeah!!! ok yeah hes a little mad but I dunno if hes like MAD MAD or mad like OH MAN IM SO MAD wait no im sad now HOLD ME BEE  
>> yknow  
>> like a couple days ago

Oh, yes, he did know. And the memory made his face burn hot for a few seconds. All the data he'd been reading lately warned about all kinds of moodiness, mostly from fatigue, but it was one thing to read about it, and another thing entirely to be on the receiving end of a shouting match turned makeout session. Which had then turned into more than that once Grimlock joined in...

… wait, was that good or bad for their kid? And yes, they'd all begun collectively referring to it as “the kid”. Too much time on Earth, Bee thought – not that he minded. It was sort of a nice reminder of where everything began. Anyway. Not the point. The point was – 

> ok but dont bring the datapads ok? Dont even look for them 

> because uh  
>> you get kinda obsessed and read them out loud and it gets weird when you get to the   
>> yknow  
>> gooey parts 

And once more, Bee let his head thunk down onto his desk. He didn't even look up as he sent along his schedule. Okay, so it wasn't perfect... but... at least this was an improvement. At least Sideswipe wasn't so mad he was barring Bee from even being near the one appointment they'd managed to convince him into. Or, rather, Grimlock had managed to convince him into. He owed the Dinobot. Big time. Maybe it was a start to fixing this mess, before the kid showed up and made everything more strained than it already was.

“Baby steps,” he muttered to himself, rueful. “Little steps. We can do this.”

Right?


End file.
